Nze Fidelis Ozichukwu Chukwu, a former South-East Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is a major stakeholder in the pan-Igbo umbrella organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo World-Wide. In this interview with JOHNKENNEDY UZOMA, he sheds light on the conduct of the election to elect a substantive president-general of the organisation, the tendencies, certain controversies trailing the election, issues surrounding the Igbo ethic nationality, as well as the way forward for Ndugbo.
HOW would you analyse the trajectory of the umbrella Igbo organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in the scheme of things over the years and to what extent has it adhered to the vision and mission of the founding fathers?
I think that the founding fathers were very conscious of the sensitivities and sensibilities of the various groups that make up Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide. They opted to manage it first as a picnic with danger and have since then continued to avoid what would turn out as merriment in flames. Everything considered, I think that they have to a very large extent adhered to the vision and mission of the founding fathers, among which are to, “come together for the purpose of nurturing better understanding and harmonious relationships among themselves and with other ethnic groups in Nigeria. “ And “To serve as a focal point of reference, of direction and of collective leadership in matters affecting the interest, solidarity and general welfare of Ndigbo…” It is still work in progress.
The leadership of most ethnic nationality groups comprises largely elderly persons. To what extent is the Ohanaeze Ndigbo making moves to entrench the younger generation in the structures and running of the organization since the younger ones are regarded as the future leaders of the Igbo nation?
Everything is being done to draw the youths along and involve them in the day to day management and administration of Ohanaeze. They are involved in various initiatives as a way of mentoring to ensure sustainability and intergenerational equity.
Are you not worried by the twist of events lately, especially over the national leadership following the emergence of parallel national executives, after the demise of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the president general and why?
You are mistaken. You may not have noticed that these people have under different guises sprout out seeking notice from the Presidency of His Excellency Ambassador Professor George Obiozor all through the tenure of Ahaejiejemba, Engineer Dr E. C. Iwuanyanwu. They have been there seeking relevance, recognition, and accommodation even long before the advent of HE Ambassador. Professor George Obiozor. Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide belongs to all of us, every Igbo. There is no segregation, but every effort is being made towards the aggregation of all peoples of Igbo ethnic nationality and heritage, wherever they may be and whatever they may be doing. We will get there. It is our collective responsibility. We will achieve harmony of objectives and convergence of values. Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is our melting pot.
What does the current situation portend for the Igbo nation, as it battles to overcome the cry of marginalisation by the Nigerian State in the scheme of things?
The truth is that what is happening here is not different from what is happening in other ethnic organisations. Society is organic and the dynamics are not surprising. On marginalisation, whatever that means, the question is whether the constitutional requirements are met. In the absence of others, what of ourselves, why bother about little-nesses and petty jealousies? We are challenged; it’s natural; we have to wake up to realities, apply our potentials and dramatise the situation to create a vital atmosphere. Why bother about who loves you or hates you? Realise yourself and do the needful. You do not need to resort to violence, crime and antisocial behaviours. Like the philosophers said, know thyself, be thyself and develop thyself. The world over, people are breaking barriers and boundaries of development. We should concern ourselves with deepening the peoples positive aspirations to generate entrepreneurial activities, promote active citizenship and stimulate the spirit of community, encourage self-responsibility and raise the axis from economic subtext to business storyline, promote initiatives at eradicating poverty, tackling crime and improving community welfare and well-being, avoid jobless growth and empower the youths to gain micro-power by helping them convert resources to products and services. The truth is that the youth are the only meaningful legacy of Igbo heritage and civilisation
You appear so passionate about the state of the Igbo nation, its predicaments and challenges. What would you suggest as the way out of the current situation and why?
Look, I have kept telling those who would listen that there are so much out there than the whole governments put together. Nature has been very generous with its endowments of bountiful resources, huge opportunities, and great potential on our people and places, Ndigbo and Igboland. Unfortunately, we have neither explored nor exploited. There is so much to be proud of and a lot to engage in. The power of individual choices has never been harder to understand and analyse. However, we need to develop knowledge, skills, and competences in micro-targetting and micro-power; identifying small, intense groups, and communicating with them on their individual needs and wants. The youths are there to promote networking, linkages, and synergy. You can make Igboland a bubbling wonderland; a haven of peace, recreation and entertainment, music, arts, and culture. Everything about and around Ndigbo remains fascinating fun, confounding preconceptions, and provokes nostalgia. They unveil the creative genius of Igbo epics in thoughts, arts, and culture. They inspire you with the spirit of endeavour, adventure, enterprise, creativity, and imagination. More importantly, they incite you with the magic of innovation and challenges you with market variants. All over are natural Disneys that sustain rare fantasies with their scenic beauty and mystic waves. I don’t see any marginalisation, I rather believe that there are great opportunities in small things. God speaks to us in circumstances. History beckons. The time is now. Micro-trends provide insight.
It is more than 25 years after Nigeria restored civil. Do you think there has been a paradigm shift in the attitude of the Nigerian State cum Establishment towards the Igbo nation so far and how do you mean?
I am not worried and have never been worried about “paradigm shift “ in the attitude of the Nigerian State cum Establishment towards the Igbo. I am rather worried by our lack of collective self-validation and authenticity. We need to look inwards and use our creative genius to rekindle the spirit of self-help and sense of community to reignite individual aspirations and self-validation.
Mutual suspicion is the bane of Nigeria in its quest to evolve into a nation. What do you believe is the level of trust and respect existing among the main ethnic nationalities in the country today, and why is it so? Is anything still missing as some observers claim that a high level of mutual distrust, suspicion, and intolerance subsists?
Let us not continue living in denials. All the above have been there. Those are the reasons for the demands for restructuring and regional autonomy.
The election of new president general of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo has come and gone, but the dust arising from the exercise hangs in the air. What would you say are the challenges you encountered in the course of trying to conduct the election?
I thank God, our people, and our governors for being united in love, collective resolve and commitment in this “act of deliverance, reconciliation and healing.” The challenges are great lessons, and I shall cherish them till I translate to eternity. I am happy that we have broken the jinx and successfully handed over the mantle of global leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide to our most illustrious and worthy brother, former President Pro-tempore of the Nigerian Senate, a man of wholesome means and consequence, Senator John Azuta Mbata, as president general of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.
The venue of the election of the venue suddenly changed, unlike in the previous election, which was conducted in the states it was zoned to, and a lot of people used it to criticise your committee. What is your take?
Discretion is an art of leadership. I was determined to hand over the President Generalship of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide to a River’s State indigene of the Igbo extraction through a very credible and transparent process on Friday, January 10, 2025. We wanted to make sure that nothing would hinder us from doing that. We were not sure that the environment in Rivers State would be conducive to achieving that in Port Harcourt or anywhere in Rivers State. We also ruled out the use of force. Our aim is a peaceful transition of power to a Rivers State indigene. We are happy it was seamless. Like Shakespeare would say, “All’s well, that ends well. “
How would you describe the last election, would you say you are satisfied?
Impressive! They need a retreat to listen to others, talk to one another, set goals/targets, state conditions and timeliness. Remember that Ohanaeze has gone through many changes in growth, nomenclature and structures from the days of the Igbo States Union to the historic convention in Port Harcourt where Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe stepped aside for Zik Obi, to the proscription and the evolution and miracles of Town Unions. In 1976, the Igbo Forum was formed with Dr Francis Akanu Ibiam as chairman, Justice Daddy Onyeama as Vice Chairman, Chief Jerome Oputa Udoji as Secretary General and Mr. Jacob Ukeje Agwu as Assistant Secretary. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was its patron. In 1979, the Igbo Forum was renamed Ohaneze Ndigbo with Dr Akanu Ibiam as First President, Dr M.I. Okpara, Prof Ben Nwabueze, Professor Pius Okigbo, Amb Ignatius Woluche, His Excellency Dr Alex Ekwueme, Professor Eni Njoku, Chief G. C. Nwonodi, Senator Francis Ella, Chief Denis Osadebe, Chief Frank Aguma, Chief Bar Humphery Nwuche, Dr K.O. Mbadiwe and Dr Jerome Udorji as First Secretary General. It has been a long history of a mix of adversities, uncertainties, trials, tribulations and phenomenal growth from strength to strength and the mythology of the phoenix and cyclical rebirth.
What is your passing shot on the ongoing conversations following the contest for the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo? What will be a summary of your impression concerning the Igbo nation?
A greater percentage of the best brains, the most versatile, vibrant and resilient do not reside in Igbo land anymore. Global trends and economic drivers have become the determining factors in our peoples destiny. The exodus of Ndigbo from Igbo land has left a once robust and flourishing economic enclave an economic desert with extreme poverty and technological backwardness, leadership fatigue and inertia, low quality life, abysmally low and the aged population, which has great telling effects on the political, economic and social fortunes of Igbo land. Unfortunately, the self-imposed restrictions and opportunities for migration have resulted to a fatal collision between the perversity of the global economy and the demographic imperatives in our society, unfortunately again for some time now the subject of good governance represents a kind of taboo in our extremely poor, socially disintegrated society, where nationhood has not been consolidated, democratic traditions are scare, deficit and intolerant and micro-power virtually lacking. Many are keen on promoting false patriotic sentiments which serve to mask historic dysfunction of our country and society.
For Ndigbo, we must have courage to remind ourselves how we lost our inheritance and got delinked by our enthusiasm for unguarded freedom, fake economy and unearned autonomy. It is therefore time we moved from the illusions of development without growth to a realistic pack and pact for sustainable society. It is time to collaborate with the political and cultural leadership to make efforts aimed at recreating, renewing, regenerating and repositioning Igbo land. We must start from revitalising the moribund industries and economy of Igbo land to creating jobs for the people so as to provide them consistent and sustainable income and earnings, which will improve their material conditions, eliminate the begger-thy-neighbour syndrome, restore and protect their dignity. We must step out of the cold and engage in rebranding, consequently promote economic production, reduce poverty, instill hope in the youths and increase the clubs of effective demand and middle class of consumers to avoid social and environmental catastrophe.
READ ALSO: Mike Okiro withdraws from Ohanaeze Ndigbo presidential race
